Lost

Chapter 74: Shots Fired!

Quite unfortunately for him, Asim was not having any of it. He rounded on Salma, his eyes flashing in anger.

"What the hell did he mean?!" he snarled at his sister.

Salma's eyes snapped towards him, shocked by the hostility in her brother's tone. She could not believe the accusation his question held.

"What did he mean?" Salma repeated in disbelief. "What the hell do you mean by asking me that question?!"

Before Asim could respond, their mother dropped the sword hanging over her head.

"Salma!" she called her over. "Mind coming inside for a bit? I believe we need to talk."

***

"You knew!" her mother seethed. "You knew all along and you kept it from us!"

It had been a while since Zayn left. Salma was still fuming over his audacity to appear at her door-step, and everyone else was not. Everyone else, including James and Dean, was on her mother's side, who happened to be fuming at her.

"Mum, I'll ask you one more time." Salma tried to control her voice. "Don't make me kill him tomorrow, I swear --"

"Keep that boy out of this!" her mother's snapped loudly.

Salma stared at her mother wide-eyed while she kept telling her off. Her blood started boiling again. Was this one of his 'I'll make you regret it' acts? To turn her family against her.

"He seems to have more brains than you!"

"No, what he has is an infuriating habit of putting his nose where it does not belong!"

"Salma –"

"Both of you!" Anne interfered. "Calm down, please!"

Salma's mother glared at her while she avoided everyone's gaze. Her mind was set on a totally different issue. She was not really bothered about any of what they were freaking out about. Zayn had managed to make her mother mad at her. She was going to – she was going to . . . Oh God! She was so mad she did not know what she wanted to do with him.

"The two of you aren't even addressing the same issue," Anne's voice reached her through her angry thoughts.

"Sal, Alley's right to be mad at you," Dean piped in, earning a glare from Salma.

"Explain why you were keeping it from all of us, especially after you getting shot at?!" Aliya demanded to know.

"You got shot at?!"

Salma's eyes widened in surprise. Zayn you jerk!

"Oh God!" Dean groaned, putting his head on the table. "Sally, please don't tell me last night's shooting --"

"Damn!" James cried, catching up with him.

"Your arm?" Dean continued. "It wasn't a splinter wound when someone pushed you during the stampede, was it?"

"Okay," Salma started cautiously. "You people are freaking out for nothing."

"Sally, this sure is not nothing," Anne said before her mother could start yelling again.

"It's not like that!" Salma protested.

"You could have been killed!"

"Am I?" she pitched in, but no one was listening.

"Mum's right!"

"Yeah, I'm with her on this one."

"Me too, Sal," James nodded in agreement with the rest. "You could have died last night."